Four years later 

Baekhyun was in the midst of flipping a pancake when his daughter's loud voice rang out from the bathroom. 

"Mommy!" She called out repeatedly. Her voice getting closer with each step.

"I'm in the kitchen." Baekhyun responded. 

Before long, a small 4 year old girl with pigtails entered the room. A trail of toothpaste foam decorated while she held a pink toothbrush in her hand.

"The water's broken." She pouted, looking up at Baekhyun. 

"The water's not broken." He chuckled. He turned around, momentarily abandoning the pancakes, to turn on the kitchen sink and prove her wrong.

Mina waited patiently while Baekhyun stared in disbelief at the lack of water running from the faucet. He tried once more to release water from the faucet and sighed when it was unsuccessful. Their water bill had been late many times but they had never had their water supply shut off completely. It was a shock to him.

"See?" Mina pressed. Baekhyun turned off the stove and wiped the toothpaste off Mina's mouth with a napkin. He chose not to say anything more about the water when he served his daughter breakfast. 

Four years hadn't made anything easier for Chanyeol or himself. They were still struggling in the exact same ways they had been when Mina was first born. Chanyeol worked his off at school and his job. Baekhyun worked his off at school and worked his off to take care of their daughter when he wasn't at school. What exactly did they have to show for their hard work? A tiny apartment and a cut off water supply.

In addition to everything else that was going on, they were currently in their first year of graduate school after having completed all 4 years of undergraduate successfully. That meant they still had a long ways to go because neither of their degrees were enough to get a serious high paying job without further education. That meant it was still a ways away before they could even think about buying a bigger apartment or an actual house.

It had also been 4 years since either had spoken to their families. It had been 4 years of ups and downs and constant struggling. From the day Mina was born, they had missed out on sleep, missed out on college, missed out on their teenage years, and missed out on life in general. 

Sometimes, when Baekhyun thought of what he had given up for Mina at night, he cried. Most times, he remembered how lucky he was to have her and he smiled.

In spite of whatever was going on, Chanyeol always smiled for Mina. Even when he was tired or upset, he smiled for his daughter and she kept him going.

Baekhyun couldn't thank him enough for his positivity.

While Mina was happily munching away on her pancakes, Baekhyun joined her at their tiny round kitchen table. It was just big enough for three and didn't feel right with only two people sitting at it.

In the midst of waiting for Mina to finish eating, Baekhyun kept a close eye on the time, glancing at it every so often. He had to wake Chanyeol up soon for class even though he really wanted to let him sleep in for as long as possible.

Chanyeol had been up really late the previous night working on a practice legal case that had been given out. Even though the school year had just begun, he was already exhausted. Studying to become a lawyer at Harvard University was no joke. Sometimes, Chanyeol questioned his ambitions.

After breakfast, Baekhyun placed Mina's dirty dishes in the sink and left them. There would be no water to clean them for a little while so he had to hold off on doing the dishes. If he couldn't do the dishes, he didn't even want to think about not being able to take a shower.

"Mommy, can I wake daddy up? Can I?" Mina asked excitedly as she watched her mother put the dishes in the sink. She bounced on the balls of her feet in anticipation and Baekhyun laughed.

"Go ahead."

It didn't take long for him to realize what the name, Mina, meant. For their daughter, it meant vibrant and vivacious. She was always happy, always full of energy, and always talkative. 

Baekhyun thought of her as a mini Chanyeol in that respect. Because whenever Chanyeol was young, he was always so lively and full of energy that Baekhyun got tired by simply watching him move about. 

At least by 22, Chanyeol had taken it down a notch and wasn't as full of energy as he had once been. Baekhyun understood the circumstances surrounding that change. Because whenever you're young, life is fun and games. But once you get older, you realize that life is anything but fun and games and there's no reason to be excited all the time. 

Baekhyun appreciated the fact that Mina hadn't come to that realization yet and was still young and naive. She didn't suspect her parents were struggling with money. She didn't suspect her mother still cried over the loss of his family. She didn't suspect how tired her father really was.

All she knew was fun, games, laughter, and happiness. Baekhyun hoped she maintained that mentality for many years to come.

And for some reason, she found great fun in waking up her father almost every morning. She was just unique and loved doing things her own way.

She tip toed into her parents' bedroom where Chanyeol was in bed sleeping heavily. Although it had been a long night for his boyfriend, Baekhyun was at least thankful he was able to get a solid 6 hours of sleep.

She looked back at her mother and put a quiet finger to her lips. Baekhyun nodded before pretending to zip his lips up tightly.

Satisfied that Baekhyun would not wake up Chanyeol before she could, Mina took cautious steps over to her dad. The object of waking her father up was to playfully scare him after he teasingly claimed to her that he wasn't afraid of anything. 

She leaned down close to his sleeping face and took in a deep breath. When her lungs were filled with air, she cried out, "Boo!"

Chanyeol opened his eyes slowly in amusement. He was met with the sight of his smiling daughter watching his face expectantly. 

"I scared you, daddy. Didn't I?" She asked.

Chanyeol held back a laugh. Almost every morning she attempted to scare him in the same way. To say he was used to it was an understatement. But because Mina was creative, he was curious to see what other ways she would come up with to wake him up.

"You sure did, honey. You really got me." Chanyeol stated. Up until then, he had always said no, maybe next time. Mina was determined to get him to say yes and she finally did. Already, she was coming up with new ways to wake him since her scare tactic had been "successful. "

She looked over to Baekhyun in triumph. "Mommy, I did it! I did it!"

"You sure did." Baekhyun responded. He smiled when Chanyeol gave Mina a big good morning kiss. She giggled when he resorted to tickling her and Baekhyun was glad that Chanyeol was such a good father to make his daughter smile, laugh, and feel loved.

"Alright, Mi-Mi. Go play in your room so I can get ready." Chanyeol said after a few minutes. Mina nodded obediently and happily skipped out of their bedroom to go play on her own.

"We're so lucky to have her." Chanyeol murmured when Mina was out of sight. Who wouldn't want such a happy and positive child?

"You don't have to tell me twice." Baekhyun replied honestly. 

Chanyeol climbed out of bed and got his clothes ready for the day. He was just about to make his way to the bathroom for a shower when Baekhyun stopped him.

"The water isn't working."

Chanyeol furrowed his brows. "What do you mean it's not working?" Before giving Baekhyun a chance to respond, he pushed his way past the older and went into the bathroom to see for himself. He the sink faucet and, as a result, nothing but a drop came out. He tried the shower handle and got the same result.

"It hasn't even been 30 days past the due date." Chanyeol gripped the sink in annoyance. 

Baekhyun hesitated a moment before responding. "Ever since we've rented this place, all of our bills have been late. The university can't keep taking pity on us, Chanyeol. We're not teenagers with a baby anymore. We're adults with a child."

"I know that." Chanyeol responded, making his way back into the bedroom to change since a shower was completely out of the question. 

Baekhyun sighed, following after Chanyeol, and sat on the edge of the bed. He patiently waited for the younger to change after having been fully dressed himself for a while. Eventually, he settled for looking at the floor to gather his thoughts before speaking again. "Chanyeol, I think I need to go back to work."

The taller man had just put his shirt on when he said, "Baek, you don't need to do that."

Baekhyun huffed in frustration. Every time he brought up the idea of going back to work, which he'd been doing a lot lately, Chanyeol brushed it off.

"Yes I do. We can't pay our bills on time. What's going to get shut off next? Our electricity?"

"I get paid next week. You don't have to worry about it." Chanyeol shrugged it off while he collected his books and shoved them into his bag.

"Why are you so against me working again?" Baekhyun demanded with crossed arms.

Chanyeol ran a hand through his hair and caught sight of the time. If they didn't leave soon, they were going to be late. Now was not the time for serious talk. Still, Chanyeol answered Baekhyun's question as honestly as he could.

"I'm barely home enough as it is. I don't want it to be like that for you too. Mina spends 6 hours a day at daycare. That's enough. If you work too, she'll barely get to see either one of us."

"I could only work 15 hours a week. I don't have to work 25 plus hours like you."

"And if you did, she'd only see you in the morning and at least by 7 at night. Both my parents worked, Baekhyun. I was always with a nanny, you know that. And if I can't be with Mina, then you have to be. I know what it's like to not have my parents. You know what it's like to not have your parents. It . She can't experience that too."

Baekhyun nodded slowly. Chanyeol might have been right about Baekhyun needing to spend time with Mina instead of working but it didn't help their money situation. 

"I just feel guilty. You're working so hard and I'm not-"

Chanyeol held up his hand. "Stop. You're taking care of Mina. That's more than enough."

Chanyeol would always tell Baekhyun he could handle things on his own but Baekhyun wondered if he really could. Chanyeol would always tell Baekhyun he was doing enough but the older always wondered if he really was.

"Let's go. We're going to be late." Chanyeol hoisted his backpack on his shoulder. Baekhyun didn't want the conversation to end so abruptly but he didn't want to be late for class either. 

He gathered up his stuff and Mina so they could be on their way. 

Before heading to class, they had to drop Mina off at daycare. The 4 year old skipped the entire way to the building with her parents trailing close behind. With everything that was happening, Baekhyun still took the time to wonder how she had so much daily energy.

Once they arrived at the daycare, Baekhyun watched while Chanyeol gave Mina a lengthy goodbye like he did every morning. Because by the time he stumbled home after work, she was fast asleep. So he only really got to see her mornings and weekends. 

Chanyeol came to the conclusion that not seeing her often was a small price to pay in order to provide her with food, shelter, and clothing.

"Will you fix the water?" She asked Chanyeol. "My baths need lots of water."

He patted her soft silky dark hair and smiled. "Of course I'll fix it."

Mina beamed. She was convinced that her father was capable of doing anything and Chanyeol never wanted to let her down. Being let down by your own parents was a heartbreaking disappointment.

After dropping her off, Baekhyun and Chanyeol had a second to themselves before going to their respective classes. They took that time to talk about the water situation.

"Mina has a point. We can't go so long without water."

"Just go to Minseok and Luhan's. They won't mind."

It seemed rather weird to go over to someone else's place and ask for a shower. But thankfully, Luhan and Minseok had been friends with them for 4 years and adored Mina so much that they really wouldn't mind. They had always been there for Baekhyun and Chanyeol, even though their 4 years of undergraduate were in the past, and they would always be there for them.

Because, as luck would have it, all 10 of their friends were still attending the same university to pursue higher educational degrees. So whenever the 12 of them got together on birthdays or holidays, it was just like old times. The addition of Mina changed things a bit but she was loved by everyone as expected, especially her godfather Kyungsoo. 

Jongdae was appalled when Kyungsoo was picked over him to be the godfather. Baekhyun's reasoning was simply, "Kyungsoo's more mature than you."

When Jongdae flashed Baekhyun an annoyed middle finger at that statement, Baekhyun knew he had made the right decision. 

In relation to their current situation, Baekhyun didn't want to press the issue any further. He didn't want to talk about their water or lack thereof. Instead, he wrapped his arms around Chanyeol's neck and gave him a kiss. The taller man wrapped his arms around Baekhyun's waist.

They kissed under a large tree th